Emergency shelters cause for concern at meeting of Greater Attleboro/Taunton Coalition on Homeless

Tuesday

Jan 21, 2014 at 5:17 PMJan 21, 2014 at 6:21 PM

Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer @Enterprise_Marc

With another winter storm blasting the area with snow and freezing temperatures, the Greater Attleboro/Taunton Coalition on Homelessness discussed the need to form an emergency shelter in Taunton during the group's monthly meeting on Tuesday.

The committee also discussed the upcoming "point-in-time count," which will take place at the end of the month to count how many homeless people are in the area, in addition to the group's first "unaccompanied youth count" to take place in Taunton. Ellen Bruder-Moore, vice president of housing and community initiatives for Community Counseling of Bristol County, said that volunteers are needed to help with both counts, which are instrumental in securing government funding for local programs to address homelessness.

During the meeting, Bruder-Moore brought up the need for an emergency shelter in Taunton to provide warmth for the homeless out on the streets in the extreme weather. Taunton City Councilor John McCaul attended the meeting and spoke about his desire to work jointly with churches in the area and advocates for the homeless to establish an emergency shelter system when the weather gets rough.

McCaul said that he got permission from Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. to use the city's police station lobby as a temporary emergency shelter for the homeless for Tuesday night's storm. It was the second time this year that the police station was designated for emergency shelter use. But it shouldn't be that way, McCaul said.

"It's not right," McCaul said. "I spoke up and said, "It's about time churches come into play and help out the homeless.' I spoke with leaders of local churches who said they want to help. What we really need to do, is have a plan in place."

One member of the committee then objected, saying that there are state regulations and other rules that would prevent churches from serving as temporary emergency shelters, for reasons such as not having emergency sprinkler systems.

McCaul said that advocates for homeless in the area need to come together and find a way to make it possible.

Also during the meeting, Bruder-Moore provided information about the upcoming homeless counts in the city, which are used to report findings in the group's annual application to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for homeless funding and support.

The point-in-time homeless count is set for Jan. 29, the group said.

Volunteers for the point in time count will spread across the community to look for the potential unsheltered individuals and families in order to interview them. The purpose is two-fold, not only report data on their situation but also to offer resources to help them.

"Volunteers will visit areas where they know the homeless may be gathering, including soup kitchens, campgrounds, and areas reported to have signs of potential homeless staying in tents or cars," the group said in a statement. "Additionally, the count will include those who are sheltered in individual or family shelters in the area, as well as transitional housing, as HUD considers these individuals still homeless until permanent housing is secured."

This year, in addition to the regular point-in-time count, another count will focus specifically on homeless youth and other "unaccompanied youth," along with the rest of the so-called "continuum of care" networks throughout the state.

GATCH is holding its youth count for three days, beginning on Jan. 29.

Bruder-Moore said that the GATCH would work with the Silver City Teen Center, opening its doors and offering pizza and prizes, in exchange for local youth filling out surveys. The surveys don't have a glaring focus on homelessness, but they ask the question, "Where did you sleep last night?" Bruder-Moore said.

To get involved with this year's homeless and youth counts, contact Bruder-Moore at 508-977-8123 or ebruder-moore@comcounseling.org, or contact Melissa Vanhorn, community impact coordinator at The United Way of Greater Attleboro and Taunton at 508-222-2337 or at melissa@uwgat.org.

Additionally during Tuesday's meeting, the group discussed the total request that it was making from the federal government for funding this year. The total request, for funds serving several area organizations providing homelessness services, was $933,537.

Board Chairman Kevin McCarthy discussed the cuts that the continuum of care is facing this year, adding that he can't fathom why cuts are being made to these services. The overall difference from current budgets to new budgets for the local organizations serving the homeless was $48,495, after the prioritization of federal funding, according to a form circulated at the meeting.